Page 22 of Hot Zone

“I don’t know any of the details, but I heard someone set his car on fire.”

“Yeah, it was a bad deal. There was this guy bothering me at Kirby’s during Daddy/boy night, and we thought it was probably him. Then we didn’t know if he was targeting Andy or if he might come after me, too. It was just really scary. Turns out, the guy wasn’t even in town when it happened, so it had nothing to do with me whatsoever, but I still can’t quite shake that feeling.”

“Sounds like you could definitely use some calm.” I handed him a light blue candle meant to promote calm and serenity. “And maybe a little protection as well.” I handed him a black candle.“Now, I don’t mean this candle will keep people from breaking into your house or grabbing you in a dark alley. It’s not that kind of protection. It protects your energy and allows you to feel peaceful regardless of your circumstances.”

“Those sound perfect.”

“So, this guy that was bothering you at Kirby’s… you need to be careful, Mika.” I didn’t want to scare him, but I had a bad feeling.

“Oh, Andy’s Daddy, Jesse, took care of that. The guy’s not allowed in Kirby’s anymore, so I feel pretty safe going there. Do you ever go? I don’t remember seeing you.”

“Not very often. I’m just so busy, and my ex hated the club, so we never went. I mostly hang out with Steven and Roxy, and they wouldn’t exactly fit in at a gay club. Though Steven’s offered to go more than once and act as my wingman.”

“You know they’re having a costume party on the Friday after Halloween, right? You should totally come.”

“I wouldn’t even know where to begin with a costume. I used to have one, but now I don’t have anything I could use.”

“Yeah, Andy told me about the fire at your house. That’s a real shame. If you need anything, just let me know.”

“No, I’m in pretty good shape right now. I have all the basic necessities, and I’m staying with Steven’s dad.”

“Oh, he’s hot.”

I chuckled. “Yeah, tell me about it. I’ve had a crush on that man for as long as I can remember, and he’s only gotten better with age.”

“Well, maybe you don’t even need to go to the club if you’ve got a hottie like that at home.”

I shook my head. “Straight hottie who has no idea I exist outside of being Steven’s annoying best friend.”

“Well, maybe you should do something about that.”

“Did you miss the straight part?” I asked.

“Well, that’s a real bummer,” Mika said.

“Tell me about it.”

“Well, if you’re not getting any at home, you should totally come with us to the costume party. I’m sure we can come up with something for you to wear. We’re about the same size.”

“You know what? I think I could use a little fun right about now. And I have some time, so I’m sure I can come up with some kind of costume.”

Mika’s phone buzzed, and he glanced at his wrist. “Oh, I’ve got to go. I should’ve known better than to stop in when I only had a few minutes to spare.”

“Okay, let me check you out and get you on your way.”

Once I checked Mika out and he’d left, I went back to where Ziva was sitting at the table, working on the Samhain plan.

“How are we doing?”

“I’m just about done,” she said. “I took what we did last year and pared it down a little like we talked about. We’ll still have the drum circle, and you can make that harvest soup you like because people might be hungry after trick-or-treating. But I think that’s about it. Honestly, Mars, I think that’s enough. We just had the fall drumming, and everyone had a chance to participate then.”

“I know you’re right. We’ll see how this goes this year, and maybe we’ll only do something big for Samhain when it falls on the weekends. I don’t want people to feel like they have to choose between their kids’ Halloween celebrations and coming here for Samhain.”

“That makes sense to me,” she said.

“Okay, well, if you feel like you have this under control, I think I’m going to head out early. I want to make dinner for Sam as a thank you for letting me stay.”

“I think that’s really nice. And you know what they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.”

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